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Science at Home, No Lab Required

Woodforest - Science at Home, No Lab Required

April 18, 2020

You don’t have to be Bill Nye to get an “A” as a science teacher. Just take advantage of the many online resources available to you. If you aren’t sure where to start, we recommend watching Teaching Science at Home: A Survival Guide for Parents.

Elementary

Science at the K-5 level should primarily involve hands-on activities. Everyday activities such as cooking, baking and gardening are great ways to introduce chemistry and biology concepts. Building model airplanes, stacking LEGOS or playing with K’nex cover physics. Once you’ve done those, take a look at these books and websites.

Books and Kits

Seven Times Smarter

DK Eyewitness Series

The Really Useful Elementary Science Book

HomeScienceTools.com

Home Science Lab

Websites

Mystery Science: Video lessons science lessons for kids K-5.

Club Oasis: A free online STEM club offers DIY STEM labs, live classes and coding lessons.

National Geographic for Kids: Games, videos, science experiments and lessons.

Smithsonian Science for the Classroom™: Created for teachers, the modules offer a wealth of online resources for parents to use at home.

Exploratorium: 285 science activities, called "science snacks," which use readily available materials and can be done at home.

Generation Genius  K-5 science lessons made in partnership with the National Science Teachers Association include vocabulary, online quizzes and optional DIY activities that can be done at home.

Middle School

In middle school, students cover earth and space science, life science and physical science. These resources can supplement the coursework your child’s teachers are sending home.

Books and Kits

Middle School Chemistry

GreatSchools.com

Physics Quest

Websites

Science Matters: Downloadable Earth Science unit studies for 6th grade students. 

Amazon Future Engineer: Free computer science classes for grades 6-12 covering robotics  and coding

Amplify: Free self-guided videos that teach students how to think, read, write and argue like real scientists and engineers.

StemWorks: Activities, experiments and field trips for grades K-8

Free Biology Lesson Plans: NGSS Life Science offers engaging biology experiments and labs.

High School

High School science is heavily dependent on laboratory observations. Setting up a dissection or chemistry lab in your home might not be a viable option but there are plenty of virtual ones.

Virtual Labs

ChemCollective – Chemistry labs, simulations, and tutorials

General Chemistry – Interactive chemistry simulations

Learn Genetics – Tons of multimedia activities and science labs centered on biology, genetics and human health

McGraw-Hill Biology Virtual Labs – Biology labs and dissections

Molecular Workbench – Hundreds of simulations explore physics, chemistry and biology

NMSU Virtual Labs – Eight virtual labs for biology and chemistry

Nova Labs – Virtual labs that cover a variety of topics

PhET Interactive Simulations – An extensive collection of simulations for physics, chemistry, earth science and biology

VAVS – Provides links to dissections of several different animals

Websites

Khan Academy: Support for high school science classes including Advanced Placement

OpenStax: Free high-quality, peer-reviewed, openly licensed college textbooks. Helpful for AP classwork

The Great Courses: Top-rated courses by the nation’s best college professors

Edx: Free online college-level classes

 



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